Despite the advances in sterilization, infections resulting from the use of medical devices continue to pose a problem. Even if a medical device has been properly sterilized before use, mere sterilization does not prevent a medical device from subsequently becoming re-contaminated by disease-causing microbes. For example, the surface of medical devices, such as catheters, that remain partially implanted within the body can become re-contaminated after the initial implantation by infectious microbes that travel through the air. The microbes can then grow on the surface of the medical device and eventually enter the body through the entry site of the medical device into the body, resulting in infection. Re-sterilization of the device after implantation, even when feasible, is difficult and time-consuming.
Therefore, it has been found that in addition to sterilizing medical devices before use, it is desirable to also impart anti-microbial properties to the surface of the medical devices, particularly for those medical devices, such as catheters, that remain partially inserted in the body for a substantial period of time. By preventing the growth of microbes on the surface of medical devices after implantation, infections may be further reduced.
Providing the surfaces of medical devices with anti-microbial properties is known in the art. Current methods used to impart anti-microbial agents onto medical devices included coating or co-extruding the surface of the medical device with an anti-microbial agent. However, these methods often require a change in the manufacturing process of the medical device, which may be difficult, costly and/or impractical. Furthermore, if the medical device is to be stored for a long time prior to use, there may be a degradation of the effectiveness of an anti-microbial coating on the medical device.
The present invention teaches a novel method of imparting anti-microbial agents onto medical devices by using certain packaging advantages.